The Industrial Revolution

This is a particular time in history that has both a very positive, and a very negative side to it. I'll go over the positive side first. Human beings are able to create and accomplish so many amazing things. I think we are just naturally geared towards moving forward and becoming the masters of the world around us. I can think of no better example of this than the industrial revolution. It was a period of rapid growth and development, when various societies around the world brought themselves out of the past and rapidly propelled themselves into the future. I think that when many people think of the industrial revolution, they severely either overlook, or understate just how incredible the advancements we made were, and how mind bogglingly rapidly we made those advancements. So many phenomenal inventions and concepts came from the industrial revolution; the spinning jenny, the power loom, the telegraph, the cotton gin, and the steam engine just to name a few. It was these and so many other innovations that allowed society to exponentially increase productivity, and effectively bring the world into the future. Unfortunately, that brings us to the negative side of the industrial revolution. Any advancements or innovations are not free from their drawbacks. With all of these new inventions came new problems, many of which man kind didn't realize at the time. The massive influx of the use of fossil fuels made atmospheric pollution skyrocket and, as we now know looking back, showed us clearly and concisely just how much damage we can do to the world around us. One of the most important things the industrial revolution taught us, is that with every step forward, there are consequences, even if we can't see them at the time. This teaches us that even today, there may be consequences of the many advancements that we are making that we can't even comprehend. I don't think there are words I can think of to describe how truly terrifying that concept is. Through learning about the industrial revolution, we receive the painful reminder of how fragile this world can be, and we need to ask ourselves whether the price of progress is necessarily worth the results. Many people view the world as mans dominion with which he can do as he pleases, but that world view is short sighted, foolish, and dangerous. It's that kind of mentality that has led to the horrifying destruction of our environment that we see going on every day. The argument can definitely be made that with the advent of the industrial revolution, came the advent of the age in which man began treading the road of destroying the very world that he lives in. In hindsight, we can't necessarily place all the blame of the consequences of the innovations of the industrial revolution on the people of the time. After all, as far as they knew, nothing bad was coming of what they were doing. However, the same can't be said in the world we live in today. Unlike back then, we can see clearly the consequences of our actions, and those that see those consequences yet keep on doing what they are doing, have undeniable guilt that they must live with every day for the rest of their lives. There are no excuses anymore.